Selling a junk or dead car in Goldsboro

Who calls a car junk in Goldsboro

Section 90.04 hands the decision to the Planning Department. "Upon investigation, proper officials of the Planning Department may determine and declare that a vehicle is a health or safety hazard and a nuisance vehicle and order the vehicle removed."

Once that happens, the rule reaches more than the person on the registration. It is unlawful "for the registered owner of a motor vehicle, or for the owner, lessee or occupant of the real property upon which the vehicle is located, to leave or allow the vehicle to remain on the property." A tenant with a dead car in the yard and the landlord who owns the lot are both covered.

The seven-day notice and the appeal

The notice goes "on the windshield, or some other conspicuous place on the vehicle." If the car sits on private property and you think the city got it wrong, the appeal "shall be made to the Planning Director in writing, and further proceedings to remove the vehicle shall be stayed until the appeal is heard and decided."

Section 90.06 lists the cases where the city can skip the notice: a "special need for prompt action," such as "vehicles blocking or obstructing ingress or egress to businesses and residences," cars parked so they "pose a traffic hazard," and cars "causing damage to public or private property." A dead car left across a neighbor's driveway may be towed with no posted warning at all.

Private property

As a general policy, Section 90.11 says, "the city will not remove a vehicle from private property if the owner, occupant or lessee of such property could have the vehicle removed under applicable state law procedures." The city also wants "a written request of the owner, occupant or lessee," except when the car has already been declared junked or a nuisance. Anyone who asks the city to haul off a car may have to cover the city's costs.

Cars left at repair shops

Goldsboro's development code puts limits on older repair shops that store cars outside. It gave those shops a deadline: junked or inoperable cars "visible from any right-of-way or adjoining property for more than 48 hours must be removed within 90 days of adoption of this Code," and "No vehicles shall be parked or stored as a source of parts or parked for the purpose of sale upon the effective date of this Ordinance." Shops still work under limits on outdoor storage, so a car left at one after a high quote is not welcome to sit. See when repairs cost more than it is worth.

Street parking

Where signs say so, Section 72.25 bans parking from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. A car that cannot be moved at night has no place on those blocks. On lined streets, cars must be parked between the lines.

If the city already towed it

Section 90.09 lets you get the car back "at any stage in the proceedings, including before the probable cause hearing," by "paying the towing fee or posting a bond for double the amount of the towing fee to the private tow truck operator or towing business having custody of the removed vehicle." Section 90.14 makes it unlawful to take the car out of storage before the fees or bond are paid. Towed or impounded covers what to bring to the lot.

Title offices we checked

Titles here run through the state's plate agencies, and Wayne County has no title desk. Here are three agencies we checked, sorted by straight-line distance from central Goldsboro:

• 3175A U.S. Highway 301 S., Smithfield: about 24 miles west
• 4651 N. Creek Drive, Greenville: about 40 miles northeast
• 4121 New Bern Ave., Raleigh: roughly 44 miles to the northwest

Mailing the paperwork to NCDMV is another route. Either way, the reverse of the title holds both parties' details, the sale date, any required mileage and a damage statement, and a notary has to witness your signature. Missing title: the duplicate application, MVR-4, runs $25.50 with notarization and sits 15 days at NCDMV before anything happens. For a car going to scrap, the title can be canceled as junked: a notarized assignment, no new title issued, and 3% highway use tax.

Wayne County is not an emissions county, so the yearly safety inspection is the only test at renewal.

Plates

The plates come off before the truck pulls away, since North Carolina ties them to the owner. No other car for them? Turn them in through a plate agency or the mail, and only after that drop the insurance. Turned-in plates can return part of the unused fee.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or use the form for a Goldsboro offer. Our truck loads from a yard, a shop lot or a curb, but not a street signed for no overnight parking. Wilson is 24.5 miles away and Greenville 36.8; for statewide rules, see North Carolina.